Exploring Diverse Worlds: 25 Original Intellectual Properties Unveiled at Busan Story Market 2026
The Busan Story Market has revealed the 25 original intellectual properties chosen for its 2026 edition, featuring projects from South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Indonesia. This selection includes a variety of genres such as science fiction, fantasy, mystery, historical romance, and more, exploring themes like life and death, family relationships, personal growth, and love.
The Busan Story Market, held as part of the Asian Contents & Film Market, is a platform for introducing original intellectual properties to producers, investors, studios, broadcasters, and content platforms. The selected works cover literary works, webtoons, web novels, comics, video games, and original story concepts with the potential for adaptation into various media formats.
The 25 chosen projects will participate in pitching sessions and one-on-one meetings during the ACFM 2026 event. The Korean lineup includes books, webtoons, web novels, and original stories, while the Taiwanese, Japanese, and Indonesian selections offer a mix of high-concept premises and emotionally resonant narratives.
The Taiwanese projects focus on themes like loss, guilt, first love, familial affection, and growing up, utilizing fantasy elements to explore emotional experiences. The Japanese IPs delve into secrets, personal fixations, and changing relationships, showcasing character-driven storytelling with unpredictable narrative directions.
The two Indonesian comic projects, "War of the Fist" and "World Without Sleep," were selected from the JAFF Content Market and will participate in the Busan Story Market as official selections. The JAFF IP Connection event in Yogyakarta will continue the exchange of original IPs between the Busan and Indonesian markets.
The 2025 Asian Contents & Film Market attracted a significant number of industry professionals and companies from various countries, making it the largest edition in the market's history. ACFM 2026 is scheduled to take place from October 10 to 13 at Exhibition Center 2, BEXCO, alongside the 31st Busan International Film Festival.